The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) received 800-million=yen worth of farm equipment for Filipino small sugarcane farmers under the Farm Mechanization Program for Small Sugarcane Landholders program.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa handed over the grant to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and representatives of beneficiaries from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in a turn-over ceremony on Nov. 18, 2023 at the SRA headquarters in Bacolod City.
“I’m especially pleased to be here today to welcome our good friends from the Government of Japan and thank them for the 80 units of tractors, 48 units of sugarcane planters, 48 units of flail mowers, and 5 units of power harrow—all extended under the Japan Non-Project Aid Program,” said Laurel during the turnover rites.
He said the DA played a significant role in the evaluation, approval and monitoring of the progress of the project, explaining how mechanization reduces hard labor, relieves labor shortages, and improves the productivity and timeliness of agricultural operations.
Laurel also commended the SRA for steering the sugarcane industry toward increasing its production through small sugarcane farmers.
The new Agriculture chief said he would continue to engage with stakeholders, including the huge DA bureaucracy, in order to accomplish President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s marching orders to bring down the prices of food items like rice, sugar, meat, chicken, fish, and vegetables by increasing food production.
Laurel noted that his experience moving up the corporate ladder allowed him to witness for himself the problems of the agriculture sector and the need for national and local authorities to work together to address the problems of Filipino farmers.
“I have been on a journey of administrative responsibility. I went to see first-hand conditions throughout the agriculture sector, to see how effectively national and local authorities are taking care of the Filipino farmers’ pressing problems and how they work together to support national food security,” he said.
Laurel expressed the department’s gratitude to Japanese embassy officials for providing assistance to sugar farmers.
“Our partnership with the Japanese government helps us address this concern through modernization and mechanization. Our two nations are bound by common interests. Our trading partnership, which brings greater prosperity and opportunity to citizens of both our countries, has grown dramatically in recent years,” he said.